Notes / Commercial Description:
Throughout the ages, man has been fascinated by the quest for hidden knowledge, the search for the secret to transforming the elemental into the extraordinary, the simple into the sublime. Ladies and gentlemen, we present for your consideration this exotic, inky concoction, the almost magical creation of our modern day alchemists who have turned humble grains—barley, wheat, rye, and oats—into black, liquid gold. Layers of complex flavors slowly emerge from the glass: espresso, roasted fig, crème brulée. Belgian yeast provides a plum-like fruitiness, noble German hops reveal spicy, herbal notes, while the rich, velvety mouthfeel mellows to a dry, smoky finish.

More User Reviews:

Different than a regular imperial stout. It's more like a "Black Quad" or a Belgian Stout or a regular Imperial Russian or American Stout that has been spiked with a little bit of prune juice and red wine. Still, a nice, unique offering; but if you're looking for your strong dark chocolate and coffee notes--typical to stouts--you're probably better off looking elsewhere.

The back label pretty much sums up this beer, and I wouldn't simply defer to that unless it was completely true: "Roasted English malts provide a deep, rich texture, Belgian yeast bestows plum-like fruitiness, and German hops add spicy aromas as Dark Truth Stout mellows to a smooth, dry, smoky finish."

I think the roasted malts do far more than just "provide a deep, rich texture", and at first sip I thought they might have been overdone, but I changed my mind about that though as they don't lend too much of an acidic bite, and the range of flavors includes a good deal of chocolate and fudge as well as coffee and a touch of tobacco and charred wood.

The Belgian yeast isn't exactly clear, which is probably good because it lends character without taking center stage, and I get a touch of clove along with soft notes of dark skinned fruit (fig, plum, etc.).

Finally, the Saazer hops are clear, and very distinct. I though at first that they might be a bit too much as well, but again I rethought that and decided that they were actually perfect. I was just going based on an idea that I'd already had in my head of what the beer should be like - but it's perfect on it's own, and it's actually fairly unique.

It's not my favorite from the Smokestack Series, but at the same time there are really no flaws to it so I can hardly complain. If they have any left, for $1.92 I'll buy at least a six-pack of these and age them - I think it'll turn out nicely. Highly recommended.

Pours a deep black with a two finger fluffy mocha color head. Aroma is dark fruit and alcohol. Taste is dark fruit, plum, spice, and roast malt with some booziness. Mouthfeel is medium and creamy smooth. Overall, a very interesting take on a stout, with the German and belgian components showing themselves in different ways.

A: Opaque dark brown with no visible carbonation. Thick espresso foam colored head sticks around for the whole drink. Thick streaks of foam line the glass.

S: Prune with hints of coffee, dark chocolate, and sweeter notes of banana and burnt sugar.

T: Dried fruit with hints of coffee and dark, bitter chocolate. Smokey on the finish with a touch of dry, bitter, citrus pith.

M: Smooth, light and very dry. A lingering dryness and spicy feel.

D: Highly drinkable stout. Nothing spectacular, though the dry, smokey elements allow this beer to stand apart from your ordinary, everyday stout. This drinking experience is further confirmation for me as I try more Boulevard beers that they are a great brewery.

A - Very deep dark looking stout with a 1/2 inch of mocha tinted head. Not as viscous as I expected.
S - As others have stated this stout is very dark fruit forward some raisin and fig smells, coffee and bakers chocolate. Smells sweet.
T - Semi chalky like a Belgium stout with a lot of roast and chocolate malts. Not as sweet as I thought but still quite good.
M - As stated its not a heavy stout medium bodied and dry finish.

Overall it does get a bit better once it warms up but nothing really stood out for me. A very drink able stout regardless.

I love the "dark arts" when it comes to beer, and this offering from Boulevard Brewing is "artfully dark"...

A beer so black it almost has no highlights to it with a head so tan it had a burnt look to it, at least to me. Though the head had little staying power, it did have some lacing down most of the glass. The odor was truly special - roasty, fruity, and boozy, to go along with a mouthfeel that was dry and boozy as well - just about as close to exceptional, in my opinion, the only thing holding it back was the biting carbonation distracting me enough to wrinkle my nose. The taste was everything I smelled and then some - I noted some caramel and coffee notes that worked so well with the smoky base of the beer. Overall, I really enjoyed this beer. I bought it on a whim, actually put it back on the shelf before finally settling on it. I'm so glad I did.

Pours a dark black, with a medium-thin sized creme colored head. The head disappears pretty quick and leaves behind no lasting lace. Roasted and charred malts, espresso, and a little bit of spicy yeast combine to form a complex aroma. The taste starts with a smooth, dark malt flavor, with hints of espresso and chocolate in the middle, befor finisheing a little smokey, spicy, and dry. There is a lot going on in the flavor. Mouth feel is bold and robust. Very filling. Overall, a great stout with a heck of a lot going on in each sip. It's quite an experience.

A very nice stout with a deep dark color and a caramel color head when poured. It's taste is above average with coffee, hazelnut, and caramel notes with a thick mouth feel. It has a slight spice at points as well. This would probably be considered a dry stout. As a fan of Boulevard Brewing Co. I could not be happier with this stout beer.

Let this one warm up for a minute. Nice notes of creamy plum and chocolate in the nose, and a great bitter-charred chocolate taste with some nice plum. A really nice beer--I agree with whichever other reviewer said (in so many words) that this was like the beautiful lovechild of a stout and a Belgian quad.

Intense entry of dark chocolate, smoky, chocolate maltiness. Sweet cooked caramel undertones with dark fruits (cherry) popping up from time to time. Ever so soft spiciness from the hops. Finishes pretty dry. Restrained Belgian esters. A bit boozy, 9.7% will do it. I get some ash as well, which adds a nice touch. Cereal grains in the finish. Carbonation is mild. Body is medium. After the first few sips and the palate has settles in, it's a pretty dam good beer. Very drinkable, gone before you know it. Definitely a different take on a stout, but all its parts work together harmoniously. A buddy gave me a couple bottles. I'm glad he did. I will definitely keep on my radar from now on.

Pitch black, mocha head, some retention and spotty lacing. Dark fruit, molasses and dark cocoa. Flavors are much the same, loads of cocoa, hints of molasses and burnt toast, a touch of coffee and figs linger. A solid imperial stout and the Belgian yeast adds a nice fruitiness. Delish...

12 oz bottle best by 12/21/17 poured into a tulip glass. Pours a pitch black with a two finger tan head . Decent head and lace retention. Aroma is of chocolate, anise, dark fruit, and cocoa, The taste is full and layered, with no noticeable heat, and maybe some hop notes. The feel is full and creamy, the carbonation is low but still present. Not entirely sure how old this is, but it is a tasty stout as is, and wondering how it would be with more time on it.

A dessert beer for sure. Dark and candy/fruity/sweet bread like in taste/smell. That syrup is still on my tongue after a sip. Mouth feel is much more syrup and low carbonation than the average beer. I love finishing the weekend night with a heavy or very light fruit beer but this one is the former. Heavy stout in look, smell, taste and feel. Much heavier than Guinness and slightly more than Brown Shugga or more imperial stout in the line. Best by 7-22-16 is the bottle.

12 oz. bottle poured into my Dark Horse tulip. Beautiful, opaque pitch-black fluid with a roch head that dissipates to an endlesly persistent quarter-inch or so. Smell is straight-up barbecued chicken, with sauce, and charcoal smoke. Possibly a hint of cigar smoke, as well. Smells delicious; no lighter fluid, thankfully. Taste is much more balanced, with big chocolate-malt and smoke flavors first, followed by some dark prune and dried-cherry notes, as well as that barbecued-chicken skin flavor, as well as Worcestershire sauce, pepper, soy sauce, and a hint of lemony citrus. Essentially, my dad's barbecue sauce (which included beer, by the way). Fruity Belgian-yeast, more smoke, hints of oak, and pepper round out the finish. Medium mouthfeel, with fairly strong carbonation, akin to a Belgian strong dark ale ("Trois Pistoles" comes to mind); could stand to be a bit richer, but very drinkable. Very good, complex and smoky, but balanced. Thanks, Nordbier!

A. Aggressive poor Awesome reverse waterfall of brown bubbles. 2 inch of tan/brown head. No carbonation. Color is brow/black, looks delicious. 5
S. Instant wall of cocoa then roasted malt. Smell of alcohol is slightly over powering. 4.75
T. Stout, roasted malt, liquorish, cocoa, very light espresso, alcohol. 4.75
M. Thick creamy syrup, borderline chewy. 5
O. Very good. I’m going to cellar the rest of the 4 pack, I hope it keeps. One of the top IS I’ve had but then again RIS are my favorite style of beer. Very weak buzz for 9.7% ABV. The alcohol stays in the chest but in a good way.5

Picked this up a few weeks back at Top Hops in New York, having never had this before. All of the beers that I've had from Boulevard have impressed me and this was no exception to that adage, as the complexity of it really came out once this warmed up. A few on here have mentioned that this was the marriage of a Stout and a Quad and that would be a perfect way to sum this up. The body and booze of the former were present along with the yeast and fruit notes of the latter and combined with the recessed alcohol, made for a beer that was worth savoring from start to finish.

Nice pour to this as the beer had a dark chocolate hue, amazingly frothy head, and nice web of lacing to it as I took my first sips. Not a strong aroma here but there was lots of currant and plum and some booze that cut through those. The barley and oats come out in the taste as the body really balanced out the strength of this beer quite nicely while the alcohol slowly came in after each sip went down. Dark bread and baker's chocolate round out the flavor profile while the lively carbonation was just an extent of the yeast that was underneath all of this, giving this beer a nice pop.

While not feeling as strong as I thought, this is not something to chug down as it took quite a while to sit back and enjoy. Creamy, lively, and deep, this was unlike any Stout that I've ever had, let alone a Double or an Imperial. Slightly roasted like a Coffee Stout and with some spice like a foreign tea, there's so much going on here that this should be in a new category since it seems to be a hybrid of a few other styles. Another winner fro Boulevard that I enjoyed immensely even if I didn't quite pinpoint it. A must-try for any dark beer lover!

Well balanced for big stout. No issue with the alcohol overtaking the espresso and other flavors (dangerous for my tap). I honestly think the mouth-feel is helping with this - would be interested in trying this on Nitro. Lacing could be better, but aroma was good, but definitely a stout to come back to if I had the opportunity -- nice!